| 释义 |
▪ I. match, n.1|mætʃ|
Forms: 1 ᵹemæcca, (ᵹemæccea), ᵹemecca, mæcca, 2 imæcca, mæcche, 3 meche, 3–4 mecche, 3–5 macche, (4 machche), 4–5 mach, (5 mehche, metche), 5–6 mache, matche, 6– match.
[OE. ᵹemæcca, ᵹemęcca (for the formation see Bülbring Ae. Elementarbuch §177):—OTeut. type *gamakjon-, related to *gamakon-, OE. ᵹemaca, make n.1 In branch II the word inherited from OE. seems to have coalesced with a new formation from match v.1]
I. One of an associated pair.
†1. A husband or wife, a mate, consort, a lover. Also said of animals. Obs.
a831Charter of Oswulf 1 in Sweet O.E. Texts 443 Ic osuulf aldormonn..ond beornðryð min ᵹemecca sellað [etc.]. 971Blickl. Hom. 23 Tweᵹen turturan ᵹemæccan. c1000ælfric Saints' Lives (1900) II. 340 His mæcca min modor. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. i. 20 Nelle þu ondrædan marian þine gemæccean to onfonne. 11..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 537/12 Coniunx, imæcca. c1160Hatton Gosp. Matt. i. 24 Þa aras ioseph..& he on-feng hys mæcchen. c1200Ormin 290 Zakariȝess macche Elysabæþ. c1220Bestiary 716 Vre Sowle atte kirke dure ches hire crist to meche, he is ure soule spuse. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 695 Vch male mas his mach a man as hym-seluen. a1400–50Alexander 831 Philip..with a fest huge Had wed him anoþer wyfe..[Alexander says to him:] Now þou mas þe slike a mangery & macchis changis. 1558Knox First Blast (Arb.) 40 But what maketh this for Mary and her matche Phillippe? a1569A. Kingsmill Godly Advise (1580) 31 Suche quarrelles as the unequal matches laie one in the others dishe. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 853 This Heroicall Progenie of the Howards and their Matches. 1658Phillips, Match, A Term in Hunting, when a Wolf desires copulation, he is said to go to his match or to his mate.
†2. One's equal in age, rank, station, etc.; one's fellow, companion. Obs.
c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xi. 16 ᵹelic is cnehtum..þæm þe clipende to heora ᵹemeccum [Vulg. coæqualibus] cweþað [etc.]. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 124 Vch mon with his mach made hym at ese. c1440Promp. Parv. 331/1 Mehche,..par, compar. 1533More Answ. Poysoned Bk. Wks. 1035/1 If..there shoulde neither felowship of their matches, nor feare of any such as are after the worldly compt accompted for theyr betters, any thing let or withstand them..to [etc.]. 1547–64Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 166 Marry thy match. 1553Wilson Rhet. 64 A proude disdainfull manne..that..thinketh hymself..ouer good to haue a matche or felowe in this life. 1571Satir. Poems Reform. xxvii. 66 Be thair exemple lerne experience, Ane forene mache or maister to admitt.
3.
†a. An opponent, antagonist, rival. Obs.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 9236 Eche man rides vnto his macche. c1400Rowland & O. 809 There es no mache un-to mee, And that me lykes ille. 1513Douglas æneis v. vii. 27 Ane vthir mache to hym was socht and sperit. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xxiv. 62 Euery man with his matche. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Gladiatores committere, to sette matches of swoorde players together. c1570Marr. Wit & Sci. iii. i, Your matche is monstrous to behoulde and full of might. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. ii. 10 Match to match I haue encountred him.
b. A person (occasionally a number of persons, a thing) that is able to contend or compete with another as an equal. In phrases to find, meet one's match; (to be, prove oneself) a match for. Also more than a match for: able to overcome or defeat. † Rarely of two persons, to be matches: to be equal in prowess.
c1300Celestin 488 in Anglia I. 79 Amonges vs [sc. the devils] shalto drecche: So longe hastou ben oure mecche, Day and ȝere. c1305Miracle of St. James 48 in E.E.P. (1862) 59 Þe schrewe fond his macche þo. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13563 Þat wel couþe feighte, he fond his mecche. a1450Le Morte Arthur 1607 Neuyr yit er my mache I founde. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. viii. 426, I gyue you leue to goo where ye lyst. Gramercy said kyng Mark For ye & I be not matches. a1568Knt. of Curtesy 352 (Ritson) His mache coulde he no where finde. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii iii. x. (1676) 66/1 Hannibal..met with his match, and was subdued at last. 1645Bp. Hall Remedy Discontents 75 Men that are not able matches to their passions. 1712Addison Spect. No. 297 ⁋6 The Hero in the Paradise Lost is unsuccessful, and by no means a Match for his Enemies. 1762Goldsm. Cit. W. vii, I fancy myself at present..more than a match for all that can happen. 1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. iv. 58 If the rival manufactures are a match for each other, let them fight it out. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 601 His followers..were no match for regular soldiers. 1871Kingsley Lett. (1878) II. 362 The honourable man who will pay his debts is no match for the dis-honourable man who will not. 1874Green Short Hist. vii. §1. 347 So long as Henry supported him,..he [T. Cromwell] was more than a match..for his foes.
4. A person or thing that equals another in some quality.
1470–85Malory Arthur ii. v. 81 Of his strengthe and hardynesse I knowe not his matche lyuynge. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 37 The match or like of him therein, was seldome or neuer in those daies any where found. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 499, I neuer found their matches amongst the best people of forrane Nations. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. I. xxi. 235, I don't believe there is his match anywhere for goodness. 1888Daily News 26 Sept. 6/1 Where..is there the match of this imperishable tale of the relief of Lucknow?
5. A person or thing that exactly corresponds to or resembles another, or that forms an exact pair with another.
c1530in Gutch Coll. Cur. II. 284 Oone Potte new made unto a matche. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. ii. iv, When two lines are drawen from the endes of anie one line, and meet in anie pointe, it is not possible to draw two other lines of like lengthe ech to his match that shal begin at the same pointes, and [etc.]. 1583Fulke Defence xiv. 381 Your eies were not matches, or else they were daseled with a mist of malice, when you [etc.]. a1616Beaum. & Fl. Wit without M. ii. ii, A maide content with one Coach and two horses, not falling out because they are not matches. 1626Bacon Sylva §393 Try them [Waters] in Seuerall Bottles, or Open Vessells, Matches in euery Thing else. 1674Moxon Tutor Astron. ii. (ed. 3) 84 You might by..looking through any Star on the Globe see its Match in Heaven. 1808Pike Sources Mississ. iii. (1810) App. 22 Extraordinary matches for carriages have sold at 400 dollars per pair. 1818J. Palmer Jrnl. Trav. 129 You've got two nice creatures, they are right elegant matches. 1893Stevenson Catriona 5 Ragged gillies, such as I had seen the matches of by the dozen in my Highland journey.
II. The action of matching.
†6.
a. A matching of adversaries against each other; a contest viewed with regard to the equality or inequality of the parties. Obs.
a1400Morte Arth. 4071 This was a mache vn-mete. c1400Destr. Troy 1324 Vnmete was the Macche at þe mene tyme. 1599Drayton Idea, ‘Truce, gentle Love’, Bad is the match where neither party wone. 1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 493 Vnequall match, Pyrrhus at Priam driues, in Rage strikes wide. 1603Drayton Bar. Wars ii. xxii. 31 Ferrer his Taberd.., well knowne in many a warlike match before. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. v. 46 It were no match, your naile against his horne. 1628Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 98 A profitable garland in their matches of valour.
†b. man of match: ? a champion. Obs.
1640Habington Q. Arragon ii. i. C 2 b, Seest thou that man of match Though small in stature, mighty he's in soule.
7. A contest or competitive trial of skill in some sport, exercise, or operation, e.g. in archery, cricket, football, ploughing, etc., in which two or more persons or bodies of persons are matched against each other; an engagement or arrangement for such a contest. Also applied to a contest in which animals are made to compete in a trial of speed, fighting power, or the like.
In modern sporting language a ‘match’ is ordinarily understood to mean a formally regulated contest between two permanent bodies (as two cricket or football clubs, two counties), or (as in billiards) between two recognized experts in a game.
1545R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 91 To make matches to assemble archers togyther, to contende who shall shoote best, and winne the game, encreaseth ye vse of shotynge wonderfully amonges men. 1567Harman Caveat (1869) 46 Where he harde..xl pence gaged vpon a matche of wrastling. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 336 Assured losse, before the match be plaid. 1611Cotgr., Partie,..a match, or set, at game. 1651Cleveland Poems 44 [He] leaves it a drawn match. 1676Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 32 They have made four matches to be run at Newmarket. 1700Post Boy 30 Mar. 2/1 A Match at Cricket, of 10 Gentlemen on each side, will Be Play'd. 1711Budgell Spect. No. 161 ⁋3 A Foot-ball Match. 1747Gen. Advertiser 4 July, Mr. Richard Newland..with two of his Brothers, and two others..having advertised that they would play a Match at Cricket..against Five of any Parish of England [etc.]. 1812Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 107 [Coursing] All matches to be entered in the match book. 1847Mrs. Gore Castles in Air xxxiii. (1857) 326 A match was skated upon the lake. 1882C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xxi. 159 He speaks to his constituents..at a ploughing match.
†8. A suitable conjunction or pairing. Also, above one's match: above one's level. Obs.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. cix, It is no mach, of thyne vnworthynesse To hir hie birth, estate, and beautee bryght. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 225 To the entente that wee may after a sorte make soome lykely matche of Roomains with the Grekes, we shall [etc.]. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) VII. 55 If I found any of them above my match.
9. concr. A (more or less) well-matched or accordant pair; two persons, things, or sets each the counterpart of the other.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 333 Plutarchus..compareth theim twoo together as a veraye good matche and wel coupleed. 1807Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) 105 Discovered one of my sleigh dogs was missing..; this was no little mortification, as it broke the match, whose important services I had already experienced. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xxii, If they were a little better match—..I mean if they were a little more of a size.
10. a. A matrimonial compact or alliance; esp. one viewed as more or less advantageous with regard to wealth, rank, or social position. to make a match: to bring about a marriage by influence or contrivance.
1575–85Abp. Sandys Serm. xvi. 288 The common sort of men, in making their matches this way, haue chiefly two outward vntoward respects. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 315 His grace hath made the match. 1676Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 28 Twas a match of his friends and not his owne making. 1751Johnson Rambler No. 182 ⁋4 Whose hope is to raise themselves by a wealthy match. 1793Marquis of Buckingham in 14th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 390 The match which is settled between Sir W. Young and Miss Talbot. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xlvii, Matches are made in Heaven, they say. 1866G. Macdonald Ann Q. Neighb. v. (1878) 59 It seems to me a very good match for her. 1874Green Short Hist. vii. §4. 378 It was by a match with Henry Stuart that Mary determined to unite the forces of Catholicism.
†b. A matrimonial alliance as represented heraldically. Obs.
1628Coke On Litt. Pref., A tomb with his statue upon it together with his own match and the matches of some of his ancestors. 1640Yorke (title) The Union of Honour. Containing the Armes, Matches And Issues of the Kings, Dukes, Marquesses and Earles of England. 1686Plot Staffordsh. 298 The Windows illustrated with the Armes and matches of the Chetwynds in painted glass.
†c. The action of marrying; relationship by marriage. by match: in consequence of a marriage.
1574J. Dee in Lett Lit. Men (Camden) 39 In direct line, braunche, collaterall, or match. 1605Camden Rem., Epit. 35 Who in these 2. funerall verses, contained her princely parentage, match, and issue. c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §53 (1810) 58 By match, it came to Tremenet. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iii. iii. §6 He possessed fair lands in Anjou and Maine; by Match in right of Queen Elianor his Wife.
d. concr. A person viewed with regard to his or her eligibility (esp. on grounds of fortune or rank) as a partner in marriage.
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 125 We will finde out a better match wherewith to delight thee. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. iv. 77 She is no match for you. 1625Massinger New Way iv. i, A maid well qualified, and the richest match Our north part can make boast of. 1688S. Penton Guardian's Instr. (1897) 25 When I had provided an agreeable Match, his Comrades..taught him to rail at Matrimony. 1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 20 Oct., Lord Ashburnham, the best match now in England. 1774H. Walpole Lett. to Mann 28 Mar., He, the first match in England. 1809Malkin Gil Blas i. xi. ⁋1 He left me so little property, that I was a bad match. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xxvii. (1878) 472 He's a very good match in point of property and family too. 1879G. Meredith Egoist xxxv, He's the great match of the county.
†11. An agreement, an appointment; a compact, bargain. it is a match (or elliptically, a match!): said in concluding an agreement or a wager; = ‘Agreed’, ‘Done’. Obs.
1569T. Preston Cambises 250 (Manly) A match ye shall make straight with me. 1586J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 37/2 These things came not thus to passe, as it were by a set match, but [etc.]. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 74 A match, 'tis done. a1628Preston New Covt. (1634) 217 If a man be holy but by halves, that makes not the match, it makes not the agreement between the Lord and us. 1655Walton Angler i. iv. (1661) 74 A match, good Master, lets go to that house. 1706–7Farquhar Beaux Strat. i. i, A Match!
III. The state of being matched.
12. Electr. An equality of impedance between two coupled devices (cf. match v.1 5 d).
1931Proc. IRE XIX. 725 By introducing capacitative elements,..a match can be obtained. 1952D. D. King Measurement at Centimeter Wavelength ii. 51 No assurance of match exists without prior knowledge of the impedance to be matched. 1962Simpson & Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors v. 89 The condition of conjugate match can be obtained quite readily when tuned transformer coupling is used as in many radio-frequency applications.
IV.
13. attrib. and Comb.: (sense 10) † match-broker, match-marring, † match-monger; match ball, a ball of the quality and dimensions specified by the laws of the game; also, in lawn tennis, a ball that may decide a match; match-book, (a) in horse racing, ? the book in which a list of the dates of matches or races is kept; (b) Cricket (see quot. 1934); match-card Cricket (see quot. 1934) (= score-card (a)); match-fit a., in good physical condition for a match; also transf.; hence match-fitness; match-game, a game (esp. of chess) forming part of a ‘match’; also U.S. = sense 7; † match-horse, a horse entered for running in a match or race; match-play, the play in a match (sense 7); also in Golf, play in which the score is reckoned by counting the holes gained on each side; so match-player; match-playing vbl. n.; match-point, (a) the state of a game when one side or player needs only one point to win the match; also, the point itself; (b) in Bridge, a unit used in scoring in tournament play; so match-pointed ppl. a.; match race, a race run as a competition; match-rifle, a rifle used in firing competitions; match-rifling Gun-making, a method of rifling guns to adapt them for long-range shooting in matches; match-winner, one who, by his skill, makes a major contribution to the winning of a match; hence match-winning ppl. a. Also match-maker2, -making vbl. n.2
1849in ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Manual (Advt.), Dark's and Duke's *Match Balls. 1895Kipling Day's Work (1898) 344 In the black jersey..of the First Fifteen, the new match-ball under his arm. 1927Daily Express 5 July 2/1 They..retrieved two successive match balls in the third set. 1928Daily Tel. 26 June 11/7 On the tenth game, the American had three match balls. The first time he smashed out of court. 1934W. J. Lewis Lang. Cricket 8 A match ball is one of superior quality for match-play, of the size and weight specified in the Laws. 1961Amer. Speech XXXVI. 44 With a lob Fraser lifted the deciding matchball out of bounds. 1969M. Brady Lawn Tennis Encycl. 129 Match Balls. The following championships were won after the winner was match point down.
1812*Match book [see 7]. 1845W. Denison Cricketer's Compan. p. iv, The Compiler feels it necessary to offer his thanks to the Presidents and Secretaries..for..allowing him to make extracts from their *match-books. 1900W. A. Bettesworth Walkers of Southgate ii. vii. 253 In the [Harrow] Sixth Form match-book Mr. Tremlett's score..is given as follows. 1934W. J. Lewis Lang. Cricket 161 Match book, a book containing the scores or tabulated records of the matches played by a club or an eleven.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 204 What Consultations, what Embassies, and a whole Councell-Board of Banes-Wrights, or *Match-brokers, must go to the knitting of a Princes Love-Knot.
1901H. Bleackley Tales of Stumps iv. 96 *Match-cards with the ‘order of going in’ had been printed and eagerly purchased by the spectators. 1908Westm. Gaz. 20 Oct. 11/2 The Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, who, however his name may be printed on the match-cards, will always be known to the cricket-loving public. 1934W. J. Lewis Lang. Cricket 162 Match card, a card giving the names of the players in the order of going in to bat, and a summary of the score up to the time of issue.
1960V. Jenkins Lions Down Under xii. 179 Terry Davies, Tony O'Reilly and Jeff Butterfield..were still far from *match-fit. 1962Times 1 Aug. 3/1 J. G. Willcox..is still not match-fit. 1967Listener 24 Aug. 241/2 It took me about three months of being back in the theatre to feel match fit.
1960V. Jenkins Lions Down Under xvi. 251 He..failed to reach *match-fitness in time. 1961Times 1 July 3/1 It was more than the flesh and blood of a man below physical and match-fitness could stand.
1871G. R. Cutting Student Life at Amherst Coll. 113 Base ball had hardly been introduced, when certain enthusiastic students conceived the idea of a ‘*match game’ with Williams College. 1888Pall Mall G. 2 July 5/2 A champion chess player will often lose a match game to a far inferior opponent.
1607Markham Caval. iii. (1617) 79 These Tryers..ought to ride by the *match-horses all the day long.
1890Athenæum 28 June 828/2 There are four or five young people, and two old widowers do the matchmaking and the *matchmarring.
1681Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick 250 He demanded a handsome Wife, which they sold him at the Price of an Aching-head, and the *Match-monger assured him, that [etc.].
1886Pall Mall G. 2 Aug. 3/2 There has been a revival of some of the old sporting gambits which had for long fallen into disfavour for *match play. 1893Baily's Mag. Oct. 279/1 The championships are played on different principles, the amateur being by holes or ‘match’ play, and the open by strokes. 1920W. T. Tilden Art Lawn Tennis 67 Match play, where both men are in the same class as tennis players, resolves itself into a battle of wits and nerve.
1894Westm. Gaz. 5 Apr. 2/1 Steinitz is the first *match-player living. 1909E. H. Miles Lessons Lawn Tennis (ed. 3) 50 The ideal match player.
Ibid., Hints on *Match-playing.
1921A. W. Myers 20 Yrs. Lawn Tennis 48 In the end he won the match, Dixon, after lazily reaching *match point some eight or nine times,..retiring at two sets all. 1928Daily Express 22 June 1/6 The British doubles team held match point twice in the fourth set with Eames serving. 1936E. Culbertson Contract Bridge Complete xxxiv. 371 In duplicate Contract with match-point scoring, the unit of play is not a game or a rubber, but an individual deal. 1940Ibid. (ed. 2) xxxiv. 369 Top-score (7 match-points) went to the North-South pair that fulfilled a six-spade contract. 1955Times 6 July 8/5 The British [bridge] team continued to disappoint..although they beat Finland to-day by 53 match points. 1965Listener 30 Dec. 1091/1 Except at match-point scoring. It can be argued that at this method of scoring One No Trump is almost certain to give East-West a very good score. 1969New Yorker 14 June 61/1 Pasarell can drive Graebner out of his mind, because he sometimes waits until Graebner has him at or near match point. 1973Country Life 13 Dec. 2048/1 This was a good match-point result, for many pairs reached Six Diamonds.
1958Listener 30 Oct. 709/2 *Match-pointed Pairs. Game All. Dealer West. 1974Guardian 25 Mar. 24/7 Match-pointed pairs events require an entirely different approach from team competitions.
1804M. Cutler in W. P. & J. P. Cutler Life & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 172 It was a *match race of two two-year-old colts for $1,000. 1854W. G. Simms Mellichampe xviii. 157 If by..a match-race on foot with an Indian runner, I could do the creature a service, I could go to work cheerfully. 1874B. F. Taylor World on Wheels 105 The train..ran a match race with a train on the Michigan Central, and reached Chicago twenty-five minutes ahead. 1948Chicago Daily News 1 Nov. 13/3 He whipped Sir Barton, a 4-year-old, in a memorable match race. 1955Amer. Speech XXX. 22 The term match or match race in common acceptance encompasses any specially arranged two-horse race. R. [Rules of the N.Y. State Racing Commission] 159, however, applies the term to such a race only when the track management has added ‘no money or other prize’. 1961F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 166/2 Match Race Conditions, those normally applied to a cycle race, and affecting the number of competitors; their positions; the start, etc.
1881Greener Gun 159 The recoil with a 10 lb. *match-rifle is inconsiderable.
Ibid. 146 The Metford *match-rifling is very expensive to produce.
1908Westm. Gaz. 21 Aug. 3/1 If you..should encounter as keen a *match-winner as yourself [at golf]. 1964J. Mercer Great Ones x. 69 At Wembley nothing happened to upset matters. Reg Lewis was undoubtedly our match-winner.
1908Westm. Gaz. 21 Aug. 3/1 And if you, *match-winning disciple, find yourself placed in this delicate position [etc.]. 1909Ibid. 12 June 16/1 In the indefatigable Mr. Brearley they have a match-winning bowler on fast wickets. 1958Times 20 Sept. 2/6 Without Wardle they have no match-winning spinner. 1960V. Jenkins Lions Down Under xii. 173 The accepted New Zealand pattern for match-winning rugby. 1972G. Ross Hist. Cricket i. 16 Mynn was the greatest match-winning cricketer the game produced before W. G. Grace.
Senses III. 12, IV. 13 in Dict. become III. 13, IV. 14. Add: [II.] 12. Computing. The action of identifying a record or other item of data which matches the requirements of a search (for information, etc.); concr. a record, etc. identified by such an action.
1962Gloss. Terms Automatic Data Processing (B.S.I.) 30 Equivalence operation, match. 1966C. J. Sippl Computer Dict. & Handbk. (1967) 187/2 Match,..2. Comparison of keys (records) that are identical. (Synonymous with a hit or strike.) 1968Brit. Med. Bull. XXIV. 208/1 If agreement is reached on all of the five primary items, a ‘match’ is declared and the file is brought up to date. 1979[see sequential a. 2 b]. 1988G. L. Bildson in D. R. Raymond Potpourri of Prototypes (Univ. Waterloo Doc. OED-90-01) (1990) 23 The result of a Pat search is a set of lines, each corresponding to a match, showing its absolute offset within the OED and some context around the match.
▪ II. match, n.2|mætʃ|
Also 4 macche, 4–6 matche, 5 mec(c)he, 6–7 mache, 7 metch, 6– match.
[a. OF. mesche, meiche (mod.F. mèche) = Pr. mecca, mecha, Catal. metxa, Sp., Pg. mecha, It. miccia:—vulgar L. types *micca, *miccia.
The ulterior etymology is obscure. Some have attempted to connect the word with Gr. µύξα, L. myxa mucus of the nose, nostril, nozzle of a lamp, in med.L. lamp-wick: and with L. muccus mucus of the nose, whence It. moccolo (:—L. *mucculus) snuff of a candle.]
†1. The wick of a candle or lamp. Obs.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 213 As thow seest some tyme..a torche, The blase there-of yblowe out ȝet brenneth the weyke, With-oute leye or liȝte that the macche brenneth. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clx. (1495) 708 Matches for candelles. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 237 Yf the mecche be ouer depe y-sette in the oyle, hit shall anoone be y-queynte. 1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 113 The fatnesse of oyle may not burne tyl a weyke or matche be put therto. c1475Pict. Voc. in Wr-Wülcker 754/20 Hic lichinus, meche. 1578Lyte Dodoens iv. lii. 510 Pith the whiche..serueth for Matches to burne in lampes. 1601Holland Pliny II. 161 Of the grapes which this Palma Christi, or Ricinus doth carie, there be made excellent weiks or matches for lamps and candles. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. xii. 335 Nor will it [the smoke of sulphur] easily light a candle, untill..the flame approacheth the match.
2. a. An instrument consisting of a wick, cord, or rope of hemp, tow, cotton, etc., so prepared that when lighted at the end it is not easily extinguished, and continues to burn at a uniform rate; used for firing cannon or other fire-arms, and for igniting a train of gunpowder. Also in Mining (see quot. 1851). † to cock a match: see cock v.2 1.
The slow-match now consists of loosely-twisted hempen cord steeped in a solution of saltpetre and lime-water, and burns at the rate of one yard in three hours. The quick-match is a cotton wick, impregnated with saltpetre, or coated with gum and mealed gunpowder.
1549Privy Council Acts (1890) II. 348 Matches, vjc weight. 1573–4in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 356 Item, for a mache..jd. 1605His Maiesties Speach, etc. G 4 And thereafter searching the fellow [Guido Fawkes],..found three matches..ready vpon him. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxii. 81 Tied four and four, and five and five together with the matches of their muskets. 1657North's Plutarch, Add. Lives 72 It was a Morian slave that strangled him [Atabalipa] with a match. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VIII. 235 A musket, or musquet, is a fire-arm..formerly fired by the application of a lighted match. 1828–40Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) III. 237 They..laid a train, which was connected with a ‘lunt’, or slow match. 1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 36 Match.—A small piece of candle end, or greased twine or tape.. used to ignite the gunpowder in blasting. 1863Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 240 The other was the man standing by with a lighted match and determined to touch the fuse.
fig.1602Marston Ant. & Mel. ii. Wks. 1856 I. 19 The match of furie is lighted, fastned to the linstock or rage.
b. The material of which matches consist; cord, etc., prepared for ignition.
1572Nottingham Rec. IV. 143 Gunepowder and matche that wase had at the Watch on Mydsomer Evyn. 1598Barret Theor. Warres iii. i. 34 Three or foure yards of match, in seuerall peeces hanging at his girdle. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. vii. (1821) 97 Fiue Lasts more of powder, with Match and Lead. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 47 The outward Coat of the Nutt is good to make Match. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VIII. 195/2 When there is any apprehension of danger, his [i.e. a gunner's] field-staff is armed with match. 1866Brande & Cox Dict. Sci., Lit., & Art s.v., Before the invention of locks, small arms were fired by means of match.
3. a. An article of domestic use, consisting of a piece of cord, cloth, paper, wood, etc., dipped in melted sulphur, so as to be readily ignited by the use of a tinder-box, and serving to light a candle or lamp, or to set fire to fuel. Obs. exc. Hist.
1530Palsgr. 243/2 Matche to lyght a candell, alumette. 1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 20 When the steele and the flint be knockde togither, a man may light his match by the sparkle. 1608Middleton Fam. Love v. i. 37 To light their matches at my tinder. 1695Congreve Love for L. ii. i, What a world of fire and candle, matches and tinder-boxes did you purchase! 1710Lond. Gaz. No. 4677/4 There were found about them..several Fir-Matches dip'd in Brimstone. a1776R. James Diss. Fevers (1778) 84 There are many ways of lighting a candle, by a piece of paper, by charcoal, by pit-coal or by a brimstone match. a1822Shelley Hymn Merc. xviii, Mercury first found out for human weal Tinder box, matches, fire-irons, flint and steel. 1889J. Nicholson Folk Speech E. Yorks. 18 The present paraffin match has quite superseded the old brimstone match, made of a splinter of wood about six inches long, and dipped at both ends.
b. A similar article used for fumigation.
1703Art & Myst. Vintners 23 French and Rhenish Wines are..commonly preserved by the Match. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Matching, Melt brimstone.., dip into it slips of coarse linnen cloth... Take one of these matches, set one end of it on fire, and put it into the bung-hole of a cask. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 1303 It is useful to counteract the..tendency to acidity, by burning a sulphur match in the casks. 1853Ibid. II. 125 To make writing-paper matches, which burn with a bright flame and diffuse an agreeable odour, moisten each side of the paper with tincture of benzoin [etc.]. 1872T. Hardy Under Greenw. Tree iv. ii, Curious objects about a foot long, in the form of Latin crosses (made of lath and brown paper dipped in brimstone—called matches by bee-fanciers).
†c. A small torch used for giving light. Obs.
c1595Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 25 The which [flies] make resemblance as if they weare so manie light matches. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 118 Hanging out kindled matches to terrifie the theeues. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 14 Fire or a lighted matche only scaring them [sc. lions].
4. a. A short slender piece of wood, wax taper, or other material, tipped with some chemical composition which bursts into flame when rubbed on a rough or specially prepared surface (or, as in the earlier contrivances, when brought into contact with some chemical reagent). Now the ordinary means of producing fire. to strike a match: to ignite a match by friction (the verb is taken over from the earlier phrase to strike a light). Cf. lucifer 3.
paraffin match, one having the splints dipped in paraffin to facilitate ignition of the wood. safety match, one which can be ignited only by ‘striking’ on the box.
1831T. P. Jones New Conv. Chem. xxiv. 245 These matches, after being covered with sulphur, are dipped into a mixture of chlorate of potassa, sugar, and sulphur, made into a paste with gum water. They are then dried, and when touched with sulphuric acid, instantaneously inflame. 1832Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Conj. Ser. I. 258 [An] apparatus for producing instantaneous light, on the principle of the match and bottle has just been imported from Paris. 1845Browning Meeting at Night 10 The quick sharp scratch And blue spurt of a lighted match. 1870Dickens E. Drood xii, [He] puts a match or two in his pocket. 1889Paraffin match: see 3. 1903 Longm. Mag. July 252 He struck a match on his thole-pin.
b. Phr. (to shatter) into matches: into splinters.
1898Times 10 Jan. 13/3 Captain Norie..whose left arm was shattered into matches by a bullet.
5. attrib. and Comb., as match-point, match-seller, match-selling; matchbook, a ‘book’ containing (safety) matches; † match-bottle, a phial containing phosphorus, for igniting sulphur matches; match-box, † (a) Mil. a metal tube, pierced full of holes, for a soldier to carry his lighted match in; (b) a box to contain matches; (c) slang a very small house; also attrib., esp. in phrases match-box skirt (see quot. 1968), match-box toy, a toy small enough to fit into a match-box; match-box bean, the hard seed of the Queensland Bean, Entada scandens, of which match-boxes are made (Morris Austral Eng); match-boy, a boy who sells matches; † match-cock (in a matchlock) = cock n.1 13 a; † match-cord, rope, or a piece of rope, prepared as a slow-match; match-girl, a girl who sells matches; match-head, the piece of some chemical composition with which a match (sense 4) is tipped; match-holder, a receptacle for a supply of matches; match-line = match-cord; match-machine, a machine for making matches; match-man, (a) a man who fires the match of a gun; (b) a man who sells matches; match-paper, touch-paper; match-paste, the paste used for making the heads of matches; match-pipe, a pipe used to contain a lighted match for a matchlock; match-pot, a small vessel for holding matches; match-safe U.S., a box to contain matches for use (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); match-splint = match-stick; match-staff, a staff with a slot in the upper end and a spike in the lower, used on shipboard to hold a slow-match (Cent. Dict.); match-stand, a stand for holding matches; match-stick, (a) the wood of a match (cf. match-wood); (b) slang, a nickname for a thin person; (c) attrib., esp. designating simple drawings in short straight lines; match-thread, the thread used as match for firing guns, etc.; match-tub, in ships-of-war, a tub having a cover perforated with holes, in which slow-matches were hung ready for use with the lighted end downwards (Ogilvie Suppl. 1855); matchwood, † (a) touchwood; (b) wood suitable for match-sticks; (c) in phrase (to break etc.) into matchwood, into minute splinters.
1951C. Armstrong Black-Eyed Stranger (1952) iv. 31 The old *match-books in the gutter. 1966H. Waugh Pure Poison (1967) xxiii. 140 The counter..boasted a ledger..a postcard rack and a basket of matchbooks advertising the motel. 1968Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 7 Feb. (1970) 628 One table asked me for my autograph and I wrote it for them on White House matchbooks.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 954 Phosphoric *match-bottles.
1786Grose Anc. Armour & Weapons 65 The musqueteer should also have a little tin tube..big enough to admit a match, and pierced full of little holes, that he may not be discovered by his match..; this was the origin of the *match⁓boxes, till lately worn by our grenadiers. 1866Lowell Wks. (1890) II. 93 Mr. Carlyle is for calling down fire from heaven whenever he cannot readily lay his hand on the match-box. 1887Pall Mall G. 9 Nov. 2/1 Twopence-halfpenny per gross is paid for matchbox-making. 1905Pearson's Mag. July 103/2 Few fingers are too old and few too tiny to help the match-box maker. 1920Joyce Let. 29 Sept. (1957) I. 148 Got notice to quit this match⁓box and am..looking for a flat. 1946A. J. Cruse (title) Match-box labels of the world. 1962Harper's Bazaar Oct. 134/2 A matchbox skirt. A flipover belt ties on the hips. 1964New Statesman 10 Apr. 579/1 Lesney Products (matchbox toys) has reported an accelerated increase in exports, turnover and profits. 1968J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 45 Match-box, a skirt given a squared box-like look by outside stitched seams back and front, introduced by Dior. 1969E. H. Pinto Treen 211/1 A large range of German ‘matchbox’ wooden toys was made at that time [1930].
1819Sporting Mag. V. 122 Society of the present day, from the nobleman to the *match-boy.
1643Plymouth Col. Rec. (1855) II. 65 A muskett, either firelock or *matchcock.
1644Nye Gunnery i. 38 The Gunner is always, when leasure will permit, to choose good *Matchcords.
1852C. de Chatelain tr. Andersen's Tales 301 The Little *Match-Girl.
1898Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 4/3 To Mr. Rosenthal belongs the credit of finding a paste for *match-heads which is not poisonous.
1884Harper's Mag. Dec. 134/2 A porcelain *match holder half full of matches.
1824Meyrick Anc. Armour III. 77 The soldier is made to carry the *match-line lighted at both ends.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1410/1 Young's *match-machine cuts the splints from a block or bolt of wood [etc.].
1815Bowles Missionary vii. 128 Last rolled the heavy guns, a sable tier, By Indians drawn, with *matchmen in the rear. 1904T. Wright in Daily Chron. 23 June 3/2 The match⁓man, with his bundles of great sulphur-tipped matches, whom ‘you could smell a mile off’.
1883Encycl. Brit. XV. 625/1 Instead of tinder, *match-paper or touch-paper..and amadou or German tinder..were often used.
1898Westm. Gaz. 19 July 10/1 The Belgian Government has voted a sum of {pstlg}2,000..to anyone who can compound a marketable *match-paste without the aid of yellow phosphorus.
1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 41 The *match pipes, the most preferable of which are either iron, lead, or wood,..should be..filled with slow charges.
1929W. Faulkner Sartoris v. 351 The thick cables along the veranda eaves would be budding into small lilac *match-points.
1856J. C. Robinson Inventory of Objects Mus. Ornamental Art 37 Wedgwood Match-pot... Pair of *Match-pots. 1882Hamilton Palace Collection Catal. No. 600 A two-handled Chinese Vase and Cover, of rock crystal, with a matchpot at the side.
1884Harper's Mag. Sept. 581/2 Takes out a cigar and looks in *match⁓safe.
1832Miss Mitford Village Ser. v. 7 Some poor wretch, beggar or *match-seller.
1891C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 67, I..tried my hand at *match-selling in the East-end.
1880M. P. Bale Woodworking Machinery xxviii. 252 Machines for cutting *match splints.
1873Young Englishwoman July 357/2 This *match-stand is made of pasteboard, covered with velvet. 1909Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 506/1 One lot tells us of ‘4 silver-mounted match-stands..and a quantity of imitation jewellery’.
1791J. Learmont Poems 24 The deil made *match-sticks o' his bains. 1901Wide World Mag. VI. 449/2, I saw the vagrant telegraph-posts trailing along the horizon like a row of match-sticks. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. ix. 169 Thin people inspire almost as many names and jokes as fat people..match⁓stick (sometimes abbreviated to ‘matchy’), needles, [etc.]. 1959Halas & Manvell Technique Film Animation 14 In France, Emile Cohl began to make his little white match⁓stick figures jump about against a black background as early as 1908. 1963Times 22 May 3/3 One man mastered it, little Harmer, of the matchstick legs and the cool footballer's brain. 1966Guardian 22 Apr. 6/5 Matchstick men—taught by adults, copied by infants—can be death to child art. 1967J. Wainwright Worms must Wait i. 5 They were wasted, emaciated men... They were match⁓stick men... They were men who should have died, but who refused to die.
1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 40 Put in the *match-thread and stir it about, till it has drawn in all the matter.
1597Gerarde Herbal Table Eng. Names, *Matchwoode, that is Touchwoode. 1838Civ. Engineer I. 396/1 We wish we could see a series of experiments made upon a more enlarged scale than upon these bits of match wood. 1861Ann. Reg. 21 Most of the ships that struck were broken up into match⁓wood. 1887Lady 20 Jan. 38/3 The huts tumbled into matchwood.
▪ III. match, a.|mæʃ|
[From the predicative and appositive uses of match n.1]
1. That matches; corresponding. Obs. exc. techn. in certain special collocations (usually hyphened), in most of which match- may be interpreted as an attrib. use of the stem of match v.1: match dissolve [cf. dissolve v. 7 b] Cinemat. (see quots. 1959, 1970); also matched dissolve; match-gearing, ‘two cog-wheels of equal diameter geared together’ (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); match-hook, ‘a double hook or pair of hooks in which one portion forms a mousing for the other’ (ibid.); match-joint, the part by which two corresponding sections of a structure are joined; matchmark (see quots.); match-plane, either of two planes used in grooving and tonguing boards, one plane being used to form the groove, and the other to form the tongue; match-plate (Founding), ‘a plate upon the opposite sides of which the halves of a pattern are placed correspondingly, to facilitate the operation of molding’ (Knight 1875); † match-term Math., one of a pair of corresponding terms in a proportion; match-wheel, ‘a cog-wheel adapted to mesh into or work with another’ (Knight 1875). Also match-board.
1483Caxton Cato E viij b, Thou oughtest to forbere and to favoure in tyme and place hym whyche thou knowest not matche ne lyke to the. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. ii. i, The whole triangles be of one greatnes, and euery angle in the one equall to his matche angle in the other. 1551― Cast. Knowl. (1556) 207 That arke of the Equinoctiall is equall with his matche arke in the Zodiacke. 1600T. Hill Arithm. ii. viii. 119 b, Wherefore each couple of them which so agree and match together in like sirname or quality are..properly to be called matchtermes..; for in such cases the one couple are the antecedents and the other couple are the consequents. Ibid. 128 b, I see..that 2½ ells..is the third number..and that 1/4 of an ell being the matche terme thereof is the first. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing x. ⁋9 Two Match half-Joynts fastned on the Frame of the Tympan. Ibid. xxiv. ⁋7 The Frisket must be Cut: which to perform, the Press-man fits the Match-Joynts of the Frisket into the Match-Joynts of the Tympan, and pins them in with the Frisket-pins. 1833Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §297 The edge of one board grooved, and the adjoining board tongued, with a pair of planes fitting into each other, called match planes. 1881Young Every Man his own Mechanic §395 Match planes are so called because the width of the projection left by one plane matches or tallies exactly with the width or groove cut by the other. 1918Webster Add., Match⁓mark.., a mark placed on the contiguous separable parts of any device to aid in the proper reassembling of any of those parts. 1953K. Reisz Technique Film Editing ii. xi. 172 When diagrams are used, it is most important to make exactly clear what they refer to... This is accomplished most simply by the matched dissolve. 1959W. S. Sharps Dict. Cinematogr. 110/1 Match dissolve, the overlapping of two shots so that, because of the identical positions of their subjects, only one person or object appears to be seen about the point of overlap. 1962Gloss. Terms Glass Industry (B.S.I.) 41 Match mark, a line or seam on glassware formed at the join of two mould parts. 1970W. Wager Sledgehammer (1971) ix. 39 Match dissolve. That's a film term for a standard motion-picture transition, say, from the face of a clock in a police chief's office to the face of another clock in the senator's bedroom.
2. Comb.: match-lined a., lined with match-board; match-lining = match-boarding.
1865Price List of Joinery 17 Extra for ½ in. match-lined back [of a cupboard]. Ibid. 19 The back lined with 5/8 match lining.
Add:[1.] match-needle a. Photogr., designating or pertaining to a technique for obtaining the correct exposure by varying the shutter-speed setting of a camera until two needles, one of which is controlled by a built-in light meter, are seen to coincide in the viewfinder.
1970SLR Yearbk. 1970 169/3 Semi-automatic, match-needle system. 1991Buying Cameras Mar. 33 The match-needle metering is simplicity itself to use and provides correct exposures almost every time.
▪ IV. match, v.1|mætʃ|
Forms: 4 mache, macche, 6 matche, 6– match.
[f. match n.1]
1. a. trans. To join in marriage (chiefly used with some reference to the fitness or unfitness of the conjunction); to procure a ‘match’ or matrimonial alliance for (e.g. a son or daughter); to connect (a family) by marriage. Also rarely, † to couple, mate (animals). Const. to († unto), with.
1390Gower Conf. II. 308 Sche was evele macched And fer from alle loves kinde. 1513More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 762 Whose bloud..was full vnmeete to be matched with hys. 1530Palsgr. 633/2, I matche the male and the female togyther of any kynde... And you can matche this bitche you shall have pretye whelpes. 1586J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 137/2 They were..by waie of mariages matched and combined with honourable and great houses. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 62, I haue sought To match my friend Sir Thurio, to my daughter. 1612Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1747) 218 Whose sole daughter then was matcht to William de Valencia. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 681 Those ill-mated Marriages..Where good with bad were matcht. 1680Evelyn Diary 6 Sept., He match'd his eldest son to Mrs. Trollop. 1703J. Tipper in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 305, I am heartily glad your dear Sister is so happily match'd to Mr. Stevens. 1731Fielding Grub St. Op. i. ii, Now I rely on you to match them up to one another. 1754Foote Knights ii. Wks. 1799 I. 85 Tim has fallen in love with a young woman.., and 'tis partly to prevent bad consequences, that I am..so hasty to match him. 1842Tennyson Ulysses 3 An idle king..Match'd with an aged wife. 1849Marryat Valerie xi. II. 140 Try if you can match her with a Duke. 1878Simpson Sch. Shaks. I. 25 Henry II. proposed to match him with some great heiress.
†b. refl. Obs.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 193 Bote maydens and maydens maccheth ou ysamme [1377 B. ix. 173 macche ȝow togideres]. 1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 89 Povertie bringeth.., that he is sometime driven to match himselfe in marriage with some woman of base parentage.
c. intr. for refl. To ally oneself in marriage. Const. with. Now rare exc. dial. † to match into (a family): to become connected by marriage with. † Also rarely of animals: To pair.
1568Grafton Chron. II. 670 Not to be vnworthy to matche in matrimonie, with the greatest Prince of the worlde. 1586B. Young Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iv. 226 b, It is (saide Lord Iohn) a greate griefe of the minde, and heart breaking, to match with a foolishe Woman. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 68 Truly I hold it a sinne to match in my kinred. 1611Cotgr., S'Apparier, to couple, or match; as birds doe in the Spring. 1620Gataker Mariage Praier 8 They shall neuer haue my blessing..if they match without my consent. 1647Sprigge Anglia Rediv. i. ii. 8 He matched into a most noble and martial family. 1680Dryden Span. Fryar iv. ii. 63 Let Tygers match with Hinds, and Wolfs with Sheep. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. iii, If he had birth and fortune to entitle him to match into such a family as ours. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 348 A young woman..who would not think of matching with a fellow of low birth. 1844Maidment Spottiswoode Misc. I. 5 This marks rather that the Spotwoods have matched with the Gordons.
†2.
a. trans. To associate, join in companionship or co-operation (persons or things); to put together so as to form a pair or set with (another person or thing). Obs. (Cf. sense 5.)
c1470Gol. & Gaw. 1159 Quhen thai war machit at mete, the mare and the myn. 1534More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1209/1 When god hath by suche chaunce sent hym to me, and there once matched me with him, I recken my self surely charged with him, tyl [etc.]. 1575–85Abp. Sandys Serm. iii. 47 Matching alwaies with iustice mercie. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 49 A sharp wit match'd with too blunt a Will. 1599― Much Ado ii. i. 111 God match me with a good dauncer. 1599H. Holland Wks. R. Greenham 1 Some busie themselues in Church-discipline, and are slender sighted in their priuie corruptions:..but it is good to match both together. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. vii. §6 [Adrian] having his [Christ's] picture in his gallerie matched with Apollonius. 1645Ussher Body Div. (1647) 68 It was matched with many infirmities and passions.
†b. refl. To make an agreement with. Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 99 Maches hym with þe maryneres, makes her paye, For to towe hym in-to tarce.
3. a. To encounter as an adversary. Also (now always), to encounter with equal power, prove a match for.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 282 Here is no mon me to mach. c1400Destr. Troy 7042 Manly he macchit hom with his mayn strokes. c1440York Myst. xxx. 199 Oure meyne with myght At mydnyght hym mached. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. viii. 426 Ye are not able to matche a good knyght. 1587Harrison England ii. iii. (1877) i. 73 The townesmen of both [Oxford and Cambridge] are glad when they may match and annoie the students. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 305 You perhaps may thinke, Because she is something lower then my selfe, That I can match her. 1642Rogers Naaman 39 Tell me, if God had not matched thee, who could? 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. 190 Sharp remembrance on the English part And shame of being matched by such a foe Rouse conscious virtue up in every heart. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 173 No knight in England could match him in the tournament except the Duke of Suffolk.
†b. intr. To meet in combat, to fight (with). Obs.
a1400–50Alexander 3607 To mache with sike a multitude of men & of bestis. c1400Destr. Troy 9678 Thus macchit þose men till the merke night. c1470Henry Wallace v. 42 Quhen xl macht [v.r. matchit] agayne thre hundyr men. 1559–66Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 69 The Congregation and the Frenchmen were often assembled, and were neare matching. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 86 The Falcon is a bird of haughtie stomacke matching with birdes a great deale bigger and mightier then him selfe. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 330 Strength matcht with strength, and power confronted power.
4. trans. To array or place in opposition or conflict with; to ‘pit’ (a person or thing) against another. Chiefly refl. and pass. Occas. const. † to, † on.
a1400Morte Arth. 1533 Þay hafe bene machede to daye with mene of þe marchez. c1400Destr. Troy 8288 He macchit hym to Menelay. 15..Scotish Fielde 197 On who was thou mached? 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) I. cxxx. 158 He is hardely matched, wherfore he hathe nede of your ayde. 1578Chr. Prayers 118 b, The sinfulnes that we haue receaued from our first Parents, hath matched the rebellious flesh against..the mind. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 631 Eternal might To match with thir inventions they presum'd So easie. 1781Cowper Retirement 580 The estate his sires had owned in ancient years Was quickly distanced, matched against a peer's. 1840De Quincey Style i. Wks. 1862 X. 161 What if a man should match such a bauble against the Pantheon? 1855Kingsley Heroes v. ii. (1868) 156 Let them match their song against mine. 1903Expositor Aug. 113 They had to match themselves against the wily Greek or Syrian trader.
5. a. To pair or assort (persons or things) with a view to fitness or equality; to arrange in a suitable or equal pair or set; to provide with an adversary or competitor of equal power. Often in pass. with adv., as to be well matched, ill matched.
1530Palsgr. 633/2, I matche one with a felowe, I set one to another that be equall of power and strength. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 120 My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kinde,..Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bels. a1645A. Stafford Fem. Glory (1869) p. xcix, Never Prince and Church-man were better matcht then theise two. 1696R. H. Sch. Recreat. 146 Match your Cock carefully. 1741Middleton Cicero II. x. 392 Cicero all the while, like a master of Gladiators, matching us and ordering the Combat. 1842Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) III. ix. 142 In point of wearisome insipidity Sir Robert and Lord John are well matched one against the other. 1859Darwin Orig. Spec. i. (1873) 25 The savages in South Africa match their draught cattle by colour. 1874Sayce Compar. Philol. v. 181 Compatibility of existence on the part of two races depends upon their being more or less nearly matched in culture. 1883Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iii. 27 The two great antagonists..were more fairly matched than Becket perhaps expected to find them.
b. To proportion, make to correspond to or with.
1680Earl Roscom. Horace's Art Poetry 4 Let Poets match their Subject to their strength. 1708Rowe Roy. Convert iii. i. 29 Mine [sc. my hopes] have been still Match'd with my Birth. 1861Whittier Our River 71 To match our spirits to our day And make a joy of duty. a1888M. Arnold Thekla's Answ. v, God doth match His gifts to man's believing.
c. ‘To furnish with a tongue and a groove, at the edges; as to match boards’ (Webster 1897).
1833etc. [see matched ppl. a. 2].
d. Electr. To equalize (two coupled impedances) so as to bring about the maximum transfer of power from one to the other; to make (a device) equal in effective impedance to.
1929E. Mallett Telegr. & Telephony vii. 162 Where the impedances cannot be matched transformers may be introduced to give the same effect. 1931Proc. IRE XIX. 725 At high frequencies a transformer consisting of primary, secondary and mutual inductances cannot be constructed to match a generator effectively to a resistive load. 1938Q. P. Harnwell Princ. Electr. & Electromagn. iv. 114 When resistances are matched, half the power developed is delivered to the load and half is lost in the source. 1959R. L. Shrader Electronic Communication xiii. 371 The requirement is to match a 4-ohm speaker to a 4,000-ohm power tube. 1966R. C. Hansen Microwave Scanning Antennas III. ii. 186 The sinuous feed and couplers..terminated in radiating elements which are matched to free space.
6. a. To place in competition with; to compare in respect of superiority. (Cf. sense 4.)
1581Mulcaster Positions xxxix. (1887) 192 If in comparison ye match a toward priuate teacher with a weake publike maister. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. Prol. 4 That faire..With tender Iuliet matcht, is now not faire. a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Conversat. betw. B. J. & W. D. Wks. (1711) 226 The earl of Surrey, sir Thomas Wyat (whom, because of their antiquity, I will not match with our better times). 1717Pope Ep. to Jervas 36 Each heav'nly piece unwearied we compare, Match Raphael's grace with thy lov'd Guido's air. 1791Cowper Iliad iv. 478 Their glory then, match never more with ours. 1820Shelley Skylark 68 Chorus Hymenæal, Or triumphal chaunt, Matched with thine would be all But an empty vaunt. 1867Howells Ital. Journ. iii. 29, I saw the custodian had another relic..which he was not ashamed to match with the manuscript in my interest.
†b. To compare in respect of similarity; to examine the likeness or difference of. Obs. rare.
a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V, Wks (1711) 103 By matching the faces of one of those strangers with a portrait she had of King James.
†7. To regard, treat, or speak of as equal. Obs.
1580Sidney Ps. xxvi. v, Sweete Lord, write not my soule Within the sinner's rowle: Nor my life's cause match with blood seekers case. 1595J. King Queens Day Serm. in Jonas, etc. (1618) 702 Whensoeuer afterwards, there was taken vppe any great lamentation, it was sampled and matched with that of Hadadrimmon, in the field of Megiddo. 1605Willet Hexapla Gen. 468 This is great presumption..to match Gods arke and Iosephs coffin together. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 194 To match vs in comparisons with durt, To weaken and discredit our exposure.
8. a. To be equal to, to equal; to resemble sufficiently to be suitably coupled with; to correspond to, be the ‘match’ or counterpart of. Also absol. of two or more things: To be mutually equal; to be sufficiently similar to be suitably coupled together.
1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 1140 All loues pleasure shall not match his wo. 1603Owen Pembrokeshire iv. (1892) 40 In shorte tyme they are like to match the other inhabitaunts in nomber. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 81 These fiue Cities are so strong, that..I neuer saw them matched. 1643Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §44 All the valiant acts of Curtius, Scevola, or Codrus, do not parallel or match that one of Job. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 190 For his religion, it was fit To match his learning and his wit. 1781Cowper Charity 118 He..Imports what others have invented well, And stirs his own to match them or excel. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. ii. 71 Marzio's hate Matches Olimpio's. 1853C. Brontë Villette xxxvi, Life is so constructed that the event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation. 1884Manch. Exam. 17 May 4/8 There exists in no Continental country anything that can match the City and Guilds' Institute. a1905Mod. The colour of the carpet does not match the wallpaper. These patterns do not match.
b. intr. To be equal with; to be suitably coupled with; to correspond, be suitable to. Also (rarely), to fit or ‘dovetail’ into. to match up to: to equal; to be comparable with.
1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 32 b, But herein good heed must be taken, least we match and march with the greeke Sophister. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 39 b, It groweth..to suche a heyght, that it matcheth with indifferent Trees. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 130 To that end, as matching to his Youth and Vanitie, I did present him with the Paris-Balls. 1866Duke of Argyll Reign Law vii. (1871) 343 Other minds were working at the same time whose labours were to match with a curious fittingness into his. 1958Times 18 Sept. 13/3 But Blanche can match up to Emily, indeed she surpasses her in the end. 1958Listener 13 Nov. 800/2 This musical image..cannot match up to the breadth and immediacy of ‘Mars’. 1964M. Gowing Britain & Atomic Energy v. 163 Britain's manpower resources did not match up to her programmes.
c. to match (used quasi-adv. or quasi-adj. after a n.): corresponding in number, size, style, etc. with what has been mentioned.
1838Dickens O. Twist xxxiii, A tall gentleman in..drab breeches and boots with tops to match. 1850Tennyson In Mem. i, Who shall so forecast the years And find in loss a gain to match? 1857G. A. Lawrence Guy Liv. iii. 21 After twelve pipes over-night with gin-and-water to match. 1891Leeds Mercury 27 Apr. 4/7 Theresa..was attired in wine-coloured velvet, and wore a jet bonnet, trimmed with velvet to match.
9. trans. To furnish with a match.
a. To find, procure, or produce an equal to.
1596J. Norden Progr. Pietie (1847) 114 Some one of these his subtle sects in shew meeteth, and as it were matcheth every godly endeavour and sincere course that the children of God do practise. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa Introd. 56 Excellent wines, and sugars which cannot be matched. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 123 The body of the Pillar is of one entire piece of Garnet, so high, that the world cannot match it. 1773Johnson 30 Apr. in Boswell, I can match his nonsense. 1842Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 31 Go and see The Gardener's daughter; trust me, after that, You scarce can fail to match his masterpiece. 1886C. F. Woolson E. Angels i. 15 To match it [the climate] one must seek the Madeira Islands or Algiers.
b. To fit or supply with a suitable addition or counterpart; to find, select, or obtain something sufficiently similar to or accordant with (a colour, pattern, an article of dress, etc.).
1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 127, I could match this beginning with an old tale. 1724Swift Use of Irish Manuf. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 3 There may be room enough to employ their wit and fancy in chusing and matching patterns and colours. 1758Johnson Idler No. 16 ⁋5 Every maid..matched her gown at Mr. Drugget's. 1770Foote Lame Lover i. 20, [I] promised to..match a coach-horse for Brigadier Whip. 1861G. J. Whyte-Melville Good for Nothing I. xi. 132 Can you match me this piece of yellow silk? 1881J. Hawthorne Fort. Fool i. xxxiv, As if it were a question of matching knitting-yarns.
c. To compare so as to select one suitable to.
1718Pope Let. 1 Sept. in Lady M. W. Montagu's Lett. (1861) I. 438 John was now matching several kinds of poppies and field flowers to her complexion, to make her a present of knots for the day.
†10. To procure as a match. Obs. rare—1.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. i. 81 Here comes another of the Tribe, a third cannot be matcht, vnlesse the diuell himselfe turne Iew.
Add:[5.] [b.] Also to match up (U.S. Sport), to assign (one player) to another, esp. of equal strength or ability, so as to form a competing pair; to arrange for (a person) to compete with another. Const. with, against.
1959F. McGuire Defensive Basketball i. 11 We assign (match up) players to particular opponents on the basis of height, speed, weight, and other characteristics. 1969R. M. Davis Aggressive Basketball vi. 122 Wherever the offensive man goes, the defense will match up a man and move with him. 1977Washington Post 1 Jan. d5/2 Here's Washington's own matched up with Bjorn Borg's roommate, Mariana Simonescu, in the Virginia Slims at GW's Smith Center Sunday. 1988N.Y. Times 20 June c7/1 Scott went to the second option, posting up Abdul-Jabbar against Bill Laimbeer, who was matched up against him.
▪ V. match, v.2|mætʃ|
[f. match n.2 Cf. F. mécher.]
trans. To fumigate (wines or liquors, or casks) by burning sulphur matches; now chiefly in Cider-making. Hence ˈmatching vbl. n.
1703Art & Myst. Vintners 28 Stum is nothing else but pure Wine kept from fretting by often racking and matching it in clean Vessels. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Matching, in the wine trade, the preparing vessels to preserve wines and other liquors, without their growing sour or vapid. 1832Trans Prov. Med. & Surg. Assoc. VI. ii. 200 The sweetness of the cider prepared for exportation is preserved by a process..which..is known by the term ‘Matching’. 1864Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XXV. i. 90 Most of the cider that is ‘matched’ in this way has a peculiar taste. |